Amherst Brewing Company hopes to move to new University Drive home in August

Photo by Diane Lederman / The RepublicanJohn Korpita, principal owner of the Amherst Brewing Company, stands in front of plans for the brewery's new home on University Drive in Amherst. The brewery is expected to open here in August.

AMHERST – Since opening in 1997, the Amherst Brewing Company has undergone three expansions and renovations at its downtown location but had virtually run out of options to do anything more.

Although they weren’t thinking of moving from the former First National Bank on North Pleasant, they heard about a space available on University Drive – where the Leading Edge, a fitness facility, was located. That facility had opened as a Gold’s Gym in the site of the former Victory supermarket at Newmarket Center, but closed last October.

“We were looking to grow the business,” said Amherst Brewing Company principal owner John Korpita. “We decided we liked the place.”

Now that the Zoning Board of Appeals has approved the move, workers are in the midst of renovating the more than 20,000 square-foot site, and Korpita is hoping for an August opening.

Korpita said the new site has much appeal.

“It gives us the opportunity to take it to the next level,” he said of the brewery. The new location is about 30 percent larger than Amherst Brewing's current site. It allows the restaurant to be on one floor – it’s currently on two – and provides seating for an additional 100 people and free and abundant parking.

Korpita said customers would complain how hard it was sometimes, particularly on a Friday night, to find a parking space. He said there are more than 200 spaces at the center. And while there are other businesses in the center, the spaces will be available when the restaurant is the busiest.

“We just figured it was a convenient location,” he said. He likes that the restaurant will be on the main boulevard to the University of Massachusetts. He also hopes to increase the lunch business with the nearby offices.

Korpita said he can expand the brewery “and sell more beer” – something the business could not do at the current site. He said Amherst Brewing will brew more varieties and be able to sell in a few area liquor stores as a form of advertising. Currently he said, the business can sell growlers to go, but not bottles. He said he has no plans, however, to pursue major distribution.

The new space allows Amherst Brewing Company to have function rooms and better space for live music.

"Expanding now in this economy, while it is improving, is still risky. We are taking a chance,” Korpita said. But he said he feels like the business is preparing for the future.

The restaurant and brewery will be open until July 29 at its current downtown site.